There was a number of very nice points connected with the controversy, but
the chief labor arose from having to consult piles of documents, vouchers,
and accounts with no regularity, and all in the Spanish language. The award,
$1,130,000, was made in favor of Chili.
I anticipated that both parties would be greatly dissatisfied with the award,
but, greatly to my surprise and gratification, both are highly pleased, and
have made official acknowledgments of the fact. Inclosed I send you an
English translation of the proceedings which took place upon the delivery of
the sentence, and without impropriety, perhaps, may make mention of the fact
that the Chilian newspapers have united in the publication of articles of
the most complimentary character, some of which I shall be pleased to
transmit to you, when I shall have leisure to translate them.
The present effect has been to induce upon the part of Chili and of Peru, so
far as heard from, the most cordial feeling of esteem and good will toward
our Government, and this circumstance alone more than repays me for the
arduous labor and anxiety I have gone through in fulfillment of the
trust.
[Inclosure in No.
143.—Translation.]
SETTLEMENT OF THE CHILENO-PERUVIAN QUESTION.
award of the arbitrator.
Translation from the Ferro-Carril of
April 8, 1875, for the Valparaiso and West
Coast Mail, April 10, 1875.
We informed our readers some months ago that the Peruvian and Chilian
governments had mutually agreed to submit the questions arising out of
the liquidation of the accounts of the allied squadron, during the war
with Spain, to arbitration, and that the choice of the representatives
of both nations had fallen upon the honorable Cornelius A. Logan, envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States to this
country, as arbitrator upon the points at issue. We took advantage of
the opportunity then presented to us to congratulate both countries on
the selection they had made of arbitrator, and to express our belief
that in the hands of such an able and judicious referee as the honorable
Cornelius A. Logan, the question at issue between the two republics
would be promptly and satisfactorily solved. The result has proved the
correctness of our opinions. The labors of the honorable arbitrator have
been of no light nature, for he has had to sift the truth out of an
entangled mass of documents that had set at defiance all previous
attempts at a settlement, and this very onerous duty has been performed
in such a manner as to give unmixed satisfaction to everybody concerned
in the matter. The arbitrator’s .ward, which is a masterly document, was
delivered in duplicate on the 7th instant, in the ministry for foreign
affairs, in the presence of Senor Enrique Good, minister for foreign
affairs; Senor Adolfo Ibanez, ex-minister for foreign affairs; Señor
Blest Gana, representative of Chili, and Señor Zegarra, representative
of Peru.
After presenting his award, the honorable C. A. Logan spoke as
follows:
Honorable Sirs: Having concluded my task as
arbitrator in the question that has been pending between your respective
governments, it is now my duty to communicate to you my decision.
With this view I at first thought it would be best to read to you the
sentence in extenso; but, on second
consideration, I have resolved, with your permission, to simply place a
copy of the sentence in the hands of each of your representatives. This
procedure appears to be the most proper one in view of the sentence,
which requires, in order that it may be clearly understood in all its
parts, to be carefully considered, giving to it all that attention which
it would be impossible to do if it were simply read by a third
party.
I have prepared, therefore, two copies of the sentence, one for each of
the parties to the case, and in placing them in your hands, it will not
be out of place to say a few words respecting the contents of these
documents.
I have found the task confided to me much more laborious and complicated
than I .had imagined when I accepted your mark of confidence. This has
arisen in part from the very irregular nature of the questions pending
between the allies, if I may be allowed so to speak, and in part from
the fact that the arbitrator has been under the necessity of giving a
different interpretation to the treaty and to the manner of carrying out
the liquidation to that adopted by the honorable parties to the
alliance. Hence arises the necessity for making almost an entirely new
liquidation.
One of the difficulties has been that neither of the parties appears to
have known how much money had been expended by the other on account of
the alliance. In the liquidation Calvo-Reyes one ally was credited with
a disbursement much smaller than it really made, while scarcely anything
was conceded to the other.
The alteration made by the arbitrator in the date of the commencement of
the alliance; the different view he takes with regard to the time in
which each allied vessel became chargeable to both parties, and with
respect to expenditure that did not .properly belong to the joint
account, gives to the balance a very different result to that of the
original liquidation.
If the arbitrator has incurred any errors, they are errors of judgment,
and by no means intentional; nor could they arise from want of
assiduity, for he has labored with activity and zeal to find the true
solution of the difficult questions involved in the matter.
In fulfillment of the desires of the honorable representatives, the
arbitrator has named the total sum of the net balance; and, as is
expressed in the same document, from this sum there must be deducted the
exact amount paid in money on account.
In conclusion, I desire to give my sincere thanks to Señor Adolfo Ibañez,
ex-minister for foreign affairs of Chili, for his kind attentions during
the course of this work, and to the honorable representatives of Peru
and Chili for the kindness and patience with which they have assisted
me.
Such as it is, I deposit this work in your hands, as the judgment and
sentence given in conformity with the protocol appointing me arbitrator;
and I trust that the careful
[Page 187]
revision and study of the opinions on which the decision is founded will
convince both parties of its justice.
The minister for foreign affairs replied as follows:
Honorable Sir: It is pleasing to me on this
occasion to be able to fulfill a duty, not only of courtesy, but of
justice.
In making known to you the acknowledgments of my government for the
important service you have rendered to two nations, I do nothing more
than offer a just tribute to your zeal and untiring assiduity.
When the two republics confided to your care the grave matter that you
have just decided, they were both convinced that they would find in Mr.
Logan a mutual friend, whose upright judgment, guided by the strictest
impartiality, would soon bring it to a termination.
I can assure you that my government will know how to appreciate properly
the new title that you have added to the many you already possess to the
sincere esteem which I feel it to be an honor to offer to you.
Together with the satisfaction of having faithfully fulfilled a highly
delicate mission, you can also rest assured that you have contributed in
an efficacious manner to remove a motive of discord between two
countries and two governments that are desirous of maintaining the most
cordial relations.
Señor Zegarra, the representative of Peru, expressed himself as
follows:
The government of Peru will shortly receive the grateful news that the
questions arising out of the accounts of the alliance have been settled
by the award of the honorable arbitrator.
I believe that I faithfully interpret its feelings when I assure you that
on its part it is animated by the same sentiments as those expressed by
his excellency the minister for foreign affairs, and that it will learn
with pleasure that there has disappeared a controversy that had been
already prolonged much more than was compatible with the fraternal
relations of Peru and Chili.
The award of the honorable arbitrator, whatsoever may be its details,
will be a just and equitable settlement of all the complicated and
difficult questions that we have been discussing during some months
past; and, on the other hand, it will confirm the high opinion my
government has ever had, and which it has always been proud to express,
of the vast attainments, strict impartiality, and unsullied honor of his
excellency the honorable C. A. Logan, to whom it is to me a pleasing and
an honorable duty to offer to-day, in the name of the government of
Peru, its most cordial acknowledgments for his untiring efforts to bring
to a happy conclusion the delicate questions submitted to his
decision.
Señor Blest Gana, the representative of Chili, expressed himself as
follows:
Sir: I am as yet unacquainted with the terms of
your award. Nevertheless I do not hesitate to affirm that they will be
the genuine expression of justice.
As the representative of the republic in this complicated business, and
having been associated with you in your labors, I have had the
opportunity of comprehending the elevated spirit and impartial opinion
by which you have ever been guided in our difficult investigations.
Thanks to the clearness of your observations, it has been possible for us
to arrive at the happy end of a journey whose obstacles have not been
less than its duration. The better part of it belongs, sir, to you; and,
as a witness of it, I fulfill the obligation of declaring to you that,
together with the gratitude of two republics, you have gained a
well-earned guerdon for your indefatigable constancy.
It must be as satisfactory to you, sir, as it is to us to know that the
sentence given in this entangled controversy, far from weakening the
intimate relations of Chili and Peru, will, on the contrary, be a new
bond, that will strengthen them.
The desire of both governments has been to arrive at the truth by means
of an amicable discussion. Whatsoever that may be which, in your
opinion, represents the rights of each one of the, contending parties,
they cannot forget that, having existed during many years as brothers,
it is their duty to continue to strengthen their uninterrupted
fraternity.
The ex-minister for foreign affairs, Señor Ibañez, thanked Mr. Logan for
the kind expression he had used toward him, and said that it afforded
him great pleasure to be able to add his testimony with respect to the
assiduity with which the arbitrator had fulfilled his task, and added
that the government had found in Senor Blest Gana a representative whose
labors corresponded in every respect to the importance and complicated
nature of the matter.
The protocol signed by the arbitrator and contracting parties is as
follows:
Santiago de Chile, April 7, 1875.
In the ministry for foreign affairs there assembled to-day at noon
the following persons:
The honorable arbitrator, C. A. Logan; the honorable minister for
foreign affairs of
[Page 188]
Chili,
Enrique Cood; the honorable secretary of the Peruvian legation,
representing the government of Peru, F. C. C. Zegarra; the honorable
ex-minister for foreign affairs of Chili, Adolfo Ibanez; the
honorable representative of Chili, Joaquin Blest Gana; the secretary
of the arbitrator, Lionel Garden; and the secretary in behalf of
Chili, Juan B. Lopez.
The honorable arbitrator, after making a few preliminary observations
respecting the award, proceeded to deliver to each one of the high
contracting parties a copy of the award and sentence in the question
of the accounts of the allied republics of Chili and Peru, in
conformity with the treaty of 1865.
Wherefore the said contracting parties acknowledge having received
the decision and sentence of the arbitrator in the final fulfillment
of the obligations imposed upon him by the protocol, and in witness
thereof they have signed this memorandum in duplicate, on the day
and year above written.
- C. A. LOGAN.
- ENRIQUE COOD.
- F. C. C. ZEGARRA.
- ADOLFO IBANEZ.
- J. BLEST GANA.
- JUAN E. LOPEZ.
- LIONEL GARDEN.
The Hon. C. A. Logan, minister of the United States, delivered
sentence on Wednesday, in his capacity of arbitrator, in the
question between this country and Peru arising out of the
liquidation of the accounts of the allied fleets during the war
with, Spain. The sentence has not yet been published, but it is
known that it awards to Chili the sum of $1,130,000, from which
there has to be deducted the sum of $654,000 paid by Peru at
different times, leaving a balance of $476,000 in favor of
Chili.
